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In this November file photo, almonds grow in Kyle McClintock's orchard in Mettler.

 Alex Horvath / The Californian

The outlook for local almond growers failed to brighten with the recent release of two early crop estimates offering alternate views — one more pessimistic than the other — on how much this year's yield will or won't be impacted by frost during the late-winter bloom and drought.

An estimate Wednesday by Oakland-based nut broker Terra Nova Trading Inc. predicted this year's crop will measure 2.9 billion pounds. That would be about the same or a little larger than last year's total and therefore add to a glut of almonds weighing down prices.